The Information-Literate Historian A Guide to Research for History Students

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In the past, historians could rely on their basic understanding of bibliographic tools to do effective research, as resources were primarily available in print, on microform, or at a library. Today, the information explosion resulting from access to the Internet has complicated traditionalresearch methods by heightening expectations and raising new questions about retrieving, using, and presenting information. The Information-Literate Historian is the only book specifically designed to teach today's history student how to most successfully select and use sources--primary, secondary, and electronic--to carry out and present their research. The book discusses: * questions to ask before, during, and after the research process, as well as questions to ask about sources and their authors * search strategies that can be used in both electronic and print indexes * the various types of sources that are appropriate for specific research questions * how to find and use books, journals, and primary sources quickly and efficiently, and how to select the best ones for a particular topic * the ways in which historians practice their craft and the nature of historical discourse and narrative * methods for finding, using, and evaluating such media as images, speeches, and maps * guidelines for presenting historical research in different formats, including papers, oral presentations, and websites Written by a college librarian, The Information-Literate Historian is an indispensable reference for historians, students, and other readers doing history research.

Jenny L. Presnell is Information Services Librarian and History, American Studies, Military Science, and Women's Studies Bibliographer at the Miami University of Ohio

Preface

xiii

Introduction

What It Means to Be a Historian

1

(2)

1 Historians and the Research Process: Getting Started

3

(16)

How Scholarly Information Is Communicated

3

(1)

What Historians Do and How They Do It

4

(2)

Practicing History in the Electronic Age: Tips for the Information-Literate Historian

6

(2)

Beginning Your Research

8

(6)

Where Do Viable and Interesting Topics Come From?

8

(1)

Developing a Question and Formulating an Argument

9

(1)

Preliminary Organization: The Blueprint

10

(1)

Taking Notes

11

(3)

Format for Documenting Sources

14

(1)

The Changing Nature of Historical Research and What Remains the Same

14

(1)

For Further Reading

15

(4)

2 Reference Resources

19

(25)

What Are Reference Resources and When Are They Useful?

19

(2)

How to Find Reference Resources

21

(1)

Types of Reference Resources

21

(19)

Encyclopedias

22

(5)

Bibliographies

27

(2)

Multivolume General Histories

29

(1)

Biographical Resources

30

(4)

Chronologies

34

(1)

Dictionaries, Etymologies, and Word Origins

35

(1)

Statistical Resources

36

(2)

Book Reviews

38

(1)

Directories

39

(1)

Using the Internet as a Reference Resource

40

(1)

Case Study: Using Reference Resources to Understand Herodotus

41

(3)

3 Finding Monographs and Using Catalogs

44

(17)

What Is a Book?: The Changing Nature of Monographs

44

(1)

When Are Books the Right Choice for Information?

45

(2)

How to Use a Book Artfully

47

(1)

Finding Monographs and Using Catalogs

48

(1)

Keyword vs. Subject Searching

49

(3)

Keyword Searching

50

(1)

Subject Searching

51

(1)

How to Read an Online Catalog Record

52

(2)

Finding Monographs and Using Catalogs Outside of Your School

54

(4)

Sources for Catalogs

58

(1)

Where Else Can I Find Monographs?

58

(1)

Case Study: Finding and Using Monographs: The Spread of Islam in Western Africa

59

(2)

4 Finding Journals, Magazines, and Newspapers: Using Indexes

61

(25)

Using a Journal Article Artfully

61

(1)

What Are Periodicals (or Journals or Magazines)?

62

(1)

Journals vs. Magazines

63

(4)

Commentary Periodicals

67

(1)

The Role of Newspapers in Secondary Historical Research

68

(1)

How to Find Articles: Designing a Search and Using an Index

68

(3)

Using an Online Database: Historical Abstracts and America: History and Life

71

(7)

Entering a Keyword Search in Historical Abstracts

73

(1)

What You Will Get: Looking at Your Results

74

(3)

Other Ways to Use an Online Index

77

(1)

Selecting Other Indexes

77

(1)

E-Journals and Electronic Collections of Journals

78

(1)

Case Study: Searching for Periodical Articles: Canton Trade System

79

(7)

Selected Historical Indexes

80

(2)

Selected Periodical Indexes of Use to Historians

82

(4)

5 Evaluating Your Sources

86

(6)

Why Evaluate Your Sources?

86

(1)

Basic Evaluation Criteria

87

(1)

Perspective and Bias: Historians and Interpretation

88

(1)

Scholarship or Propaganda?

89

(1)

Case Study: Evaluating Sources: Holocaust Historians

90

(2)

6 The Thrill of Discovery: Primary Sources

92

(44)

Definitions

93

(1)

Nature and Categories of Primary Sources

93

(2)

Planning Your Project with Primary Sources

95

(1)

Locating Primary Sources

96

(3)

Published Sources for Mass Consumption

99

(10)

Books as Primary Sources

100

(3)

Magazines and Journals as Primary Sources

103

(2)

Newspapers as Primary Sources

105

(2)

How to Read a Bibliographic Entry in a Printed Newspaper Index

107

(2)

Unpublished Sources and Manuscripts

109

(3)

Catalogs, Bibliographies, Directories, and Indexes for Manuscripts

111

(1)

Directories to Archive Repositories

112

(2)

Documents from Governments and Other Official Bodies

114

(2)

Indexes and Bibliographies of Government Documents

115

(1)

Directories/Bibliographies for Governments/Guides to Government Publications

116

(1)

Public Records and Genealogical Sources

116

(3)

Guides to Public Records

117

(1)

Business Records

118

(1)

Directories

119

(1)

Oral History

119

(2)

Guides to Oral History Repositories

120

(1)

Media and Audiovisual

121

(1)

History before 1400: Ancient and Medieval Cultures and Those with Substantial Oral and Material Culture Traditions

122

(6)

Ancient History

123

(3)

Medieval European History

126

(2)

Using Bibliographies to Locate Primary Sources

128

(2)

Bibliographies Containing References to Primary Sources

129

(1)

Evaluation

130

(1)

Case Study: Finding Primary Sources: Tobacco through the Ages

131

(1)

For Further Reading

132

(1)

Bibliography of Advanced Indexes to Published Primary Sources

133

(3)

7 History and the Internet

136

(23)

The Internet and Research

136

(1)

When Is the Internet Appropriate for Historical Research?

137

(3)

Using the Internet: The Basics

140

(9)

How Do I Access Websites on the Internet?

140

(3)

Search Directories 141 Search Engines

143

(4)

Meta-Search Engines

147

(1)

What Am I Missing? The Deep Web or Invisible Web

147

(2)

Special Search Techniques: Finding Primary Sources on the Internet

149

(2)

Searching for Primary Sources

150

(1)

Historians Communicating: Using H-Net for Information;

151

(1)

Evaluation of Websites

152

(3)

General Websites

152

(2)

Evaluating Sites Concerned with Primary Sources

154

(1)

Case Study: Using the Internet: Japanese Americans and Internment Camps

155

(1)

For Further Reading

156

(3)

8 Maps From Simple to Geographic Information Systems

159

(18)

Maps as Representations of Our World

159

(1)

A Short History of Maps and Cartography

160

(1)

Maps for Navigation and Commercial Use

161

(1)

Maps as Political Tools

161

(1)

Maps as Propaganda

162

(1)

Maps Marking Territory

162

(1)

Maps in War

163

(1)

Components of Modern Maps

163

(2)

Finding Maps

165

(4)

Map Resources

165

(3)

Gazetteers

168

(1)

How to Read a Map

169

(1)

Questions to Ask When Reading a Map

169

(1)

Planning Your Own Map: Simple to Complex

170

(3)

For Further Reading

173

(4)

9 Beyond the Written Word: Finding, Evaluating, and Using Images, Motion Pictures, and Audio

177

(29)

The Role of Media in Historical Research: Media as Historical Evidence

177

(6)

Images Throughout History

178

(1)

Photography: Real Life Captured?

178

(3)

Art as Visual Media: Painting and Drawing

181

(2)

Motion Pictures and Television

183

(1)

Searching for Visual Media

183

(6)

Collections of Historic Images

186

(3)

Search Engines and Meta-Search Engines for Images and Indexes to Image Collections